Vines Art Festival hosts Multitides—a site-collaborative tidal walk at Spanish Banks, August 15 to 18
The self-guided stroll at Spanish Banks’ tidal flats comes with an eight-page zine
Paula Viitanen Aldazosa.
Vines Art Festival presents Multitides—a site collaborative tidal walk on August 15 from 8:50 am to 10:50 am; August 16 from 9:40 am to 11:40 am; August 17 from 10:40 am to 12:40 pm; and August 18 from 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm
THE TIDAL FLATS of Spanish Banks are the stage for a Vines Art Festival offering called Multitides—a site collaborative tidal walk taking place from August 15 to 18.
Created by Paula Viitanen in collaboration with mechatronics engineer Juan Aldazosa, visual artist Liz Wurzinger, and composer Elliot Vaughan, the self-guided stroll takes place at low tide each day, beginning at a site-responsive installation where participants receive a guidebook leading them into the intertidal zone.
The installation will be in place just outside of the Spanish Banks West concession; measuring approximately eight feet by eight feet, it is designed as a “site-responsive portal or doorway”, Viitanen tells Stir.
“Participants are invited to step through it at the beginning of their tidal walk,” says Viitanen, who has a degree in industrial joinery and a BFA in theatre: production and design. “Our exploration focuses on how a frame or portal might alter one’s awareness and presence in a location. The installation features site-responsive elements, including kinetic parts that react to local weather conditions such as wind and rain and the rising tidal waters.”
Audiences will also be given a guidebook in the form of an eight-page zine. “When unfolded, it reveals a poster-sized map of the tidal flats, showcasing observations and prompts related to the natural features of the area,” Viitanen says. “This guide encourages exploration of the site’s existing dynamics.”
In the booklet, there will be a QR code to a site-specific composition by Vaughan. “The sound will be generated real time based on an algorithm Vaughan created using six different earth and moon cycles turned into oscillators,” Viitanen says.
Vines Art Festival continues to August 17. ![]()
Gail Johnson is cofounder of Stir. She is a Vancouver-based journalist who has earned local and national nominations and awards for her work. She is a certified Gladue Report writer via Indigenous Perspectives Society in partnership with Royal Roads University and is a member of a judging panel for top Vancouver restaurants.
Related Articles
Among the nominated writers and artists with local connections are Kim Fu, Brandi Bird, Julie Morstad, and Jovanni Sy
Calgary artist’s world premiere reflects on feelings of displacement and discomfort that come with spiritual transformation
Four-time Tony Award–winning rock musical takes audiences on a wild ride through themes of identity, heartbreak, and belonging
The 1980s-themed party includes a free-play arcade, a pop-up tattoo parlour, and live performances by Trauma Novelle, Reveal Yourself, and Devours
Annual Christmas concert features compositions by Shireen Abu-Khader, Srul Irving Glick, Marie-Claire Saindon, and Stephen Smith
In new Electric Company Theatre play, premiering at the Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival, real grief over his sister mixes with fictional elements and age-old myth
Captivating duet stars dancer-choreographer Alexa Solveig Mardon and drummer Jen Yakamovich
The touring production returns to Vancouver after seven years, featuring a 14-metre rain curtain and giant treadmills powered by 28 car batteries
Led by director Greg Caisley, concert features 60-voice choir, orchestra, and four outstanding soloists
Season opener, coproduced with Pacific Opera Victoria, features a strong central trio of singers and striking lighting and sets
Milestone year brings the Preview Exhibition to the Eastside Arts Society’s newly purchased building at 716 E. Hastings Street
This time out, the Nunsense sisters produce a chaotic Christmas special for cable-access television
Virtual reality exhibition features works by local and international artists, including a special presentation of Martin Messier’s 1 Drop 1000 Years
Willow Lewmos directs the darkly comedic solo show as part of the Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival
Visions Ouest and Alliance Française present the Quebec comedy-drama about a healthy senior who gathers his clan at a cottage to announce his plans for MAID
Vocals, movement, and lighting meet in a bold reimagining of David Lang’s Pulitzer Prize–winning choral composition
Led by the BC Coalition of Arts, Culture, and Heritage, the nonpartisan campaign advocates for increased funding and a unified cultural strategy
Offerings spans queer cinema, live electronic music, and dance throughout this multidisciplinary collaboration between six emerging curators
Immersive theatre experience arrives just in time for spooky season, featuring freaky performances and mischievous sewer rats
Award-winning performer, composer, and producer leads a project that blends blues, gospel, hip hop, and griot traditions
With plenty of laughter, improv-comedy veterans Naomi Snieckus and Matt Baram candidly explore loss and how we attach meaning to objects
Award-winning filmmaker discusses his mission to highlight the unmatched diversity of wild cats in India
The Cree-Dene composer’s new work joins a program aimed at instilling calm, bliss, and joy
Cataloguing the campy to the harrowing, the writer behind Shot in Vancouver: Adventures in Hollywood North appears at the Vancouver Writers Fest on October 24 and 25
Accompanying silent auction raises funds for children with serious illnesses across British Columbia and the Yukon
As part of the Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival, the new show nods to Mexico’s Día de los Muertos and similar traditions from other countries
Baroque masters William Christie and Paul Agnew lead the vocal ensemble in a revelatory program devoted to the lauded Italian composer
